Common sense needed with open government law

By The Daily News

Published: Friday, May 3, 2013 at 08:59 PM.

Third, it will mean public officials participating in the meeting are held accountable for what they say.

Fourth, it will ensure that the public knows exactly who is attending the closed session. There are examples of public bodies going into closed session, but then inviting (sometimes secretly) certain members of the public into the session. Now, we will know who is there.

Remember, for matters whose statutory protection never dies (personnel matters, for example), these minutes will likely never become public. But for matters that will eventually become public, this guarantees the public will know exactly what happened in the closed session.

There are areas of the North Carolina open government laws that make no sense.

One is juvenile court — if you want to watch a juvenile proceeding, it is presumed to be open and you can see everything that transpires. But if you miss a juvenile court session and want to find out what happened, the records of those proceedings are closed.

Here’s another (and the subject of today’s editorial): minutes from closed meetings of a public board.

The current language in the statute reads: “every public body shall keep full and accurate minutes of all officials meetings, including any closed sessions …”

As an aside, closed meeting minutes become public once the reason for having the session closed in the first place no longer exists. So, for example, if a board went into closed session to get legal advice, and the case settles or is fully litigated, the minutes of the meeting would have to be released. Same goes for a completed land deal, etc.

The statute goes on to give public boards an option — keep written minutes or record the closed sessions with audio and/or video.

Few, if any boards, choose the latter option, opting instead to go with written minutes.

But, sadly, what passes as “minutes” for these sessions falls woefully short of the common sense definition. Some boards in N.C. have been known to go into closed session for hours. When the minutes are finally released, those hours of discussions were distilled down to a sentence; not exactly full and accurate.

The result of this less-than-complete minute-taking is that it reduces confidence in government. Closed sessions should be used sparingly (if at all), and when they are held, the level of accountability should be high.

This is why House Bill 870, sponsored by Republican Warsaw Rep. Jimmy Dixon, is so important and such a major step forward for openness in government.

Dixon’s bill would require that all closed sessions be recorded — either audio or audio/video.

This bill is an improvement on so many levels.

First, it places virtually no burden on the public body that is meeting (and, in fact, since the pressure to take minutes is removed, is probably easier).

Second, it means there will be zero ambiguity about what is said in closed session. There will be no requirement for a minutes-taker to determine what is important or not.

Third, it will mean public officials participating in the meeting are held accountable for what they say.

Fourth, it will ensure that the public knows exactly who is attending the closed session. There are examples of public bodies going into closed session, but then inviting (sometimes secretly) certain members of the public into the session. Now, we will know who is there.

Remember, for matters whose statutory protection never dies (personnel matters, for example), these minutes will likely never become public. But for matters that will eventually become public, this guarantees the public will know exactly what happened in the closed session.